Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.\n
By the time they got out of the zoo, it was already noon. The two had a quick lunch at a famous wonton shop outside the zoo, then went home together.\n
On the way home, Wang Guangning received a call. It was Sun Sixiang urging him not to forget that the next day was the gathering for F Uniâs founding anniversary.\n
âHey, Zhang Lingyi, tomorrowâs F Uni anniversary gathering â are you going?â\n
âGoing, yeah,â Zhang Lingyi was getting off the car and replied absent-mindedly. âShoushou, are you going too? Then Iâll drive you and weâll go together!â\n
Wang Guangning gave it a thought: âThatâll do.â\n
F Uniâs sixtieth founding anniversary was a big affair. Many alumni took the trouble and travelled a long way to be there.\n
When Wang Guangning and Zhang Lingyi arrived, there were already so many cars that some were at the school next door. Zhang Lingyi could only park below a classroom building at the neighbouring brand-name university, and go by foot to F Uni with Wang Guangning.\n
There were lots of pedestrians, and quite a few people had taken the opportunity to set up memorabilia stalls along the road.\n
Wang Guangning had left in a hurry that year and hadnât returned to their alma mater since then. He did indeed miss the place to some extent, so he was distracted by the stalls, stopping at one now and again.\n
Halfway, Zhang Lingyi received Luo Zihuiâs call, saying that their classmates was already at a good restaurant nearby. They wanted him to come over quickly, so Zhang Lingyi could only say goodbye to Wang Guangning for now, and head to the restaurant first.\n
Wang Guangning was happy on his own. He was tall and handsome, and of outstanding temperament. Walking amongst the crowd, he turned not a few heads. Many of the young girls who had set up the roadside stalls jostled to peddle their wares to him, and even volunteered discounts.\n
âWhatâs this?â Wang Guangning lifted up a palm-sized, rectangular wooden box. The lid of the box was stamped with the words, âXX Universityâ.\n
âThis is a name-card box.â The young lady who was selling the box blushed, seeing it was a handsome guy who asked.\n
âOh.â Wang Guangning raised his eyebrows. He took off the lid â the box was very solid and it was clear that it was pretty well-made. Asking for the price, he found it wasnât expensive, and so he bought one.\n
Leaving the stall, Wang Guangning continued to wander around aimlessly. F Uniâs campus wasnât considered very large compared to the rest of G Cityâs higher-education institutions, and it felt even tinier today. There were masses of people everywhere. There were young student volunteers giving alumni an excited welcome, and also middle-aged former students with nostalgia written on their faces. Countless people had painted over this landscape with the memories of their youth.\n
Of course, this included Wang Guangning.\n
He hadnât come here for a long while, but once he stepped foot on this piece of land, everything felt so familiar. There was no need to attempt recalling where the criss-crossing paths led to. Intuitively, he began walking along the paths he used to take.\n
Occasionally, a few familiar or unfamiliar faces would give him a look of surprise. But Wang Guangning placed more attention on the scenery, rather than the attitudes of passers-by.\n
Without knowing it, heâd walked to the lecture hall.\n
F Uniâs lecture hall could seat a few hundred people, and there was a big open square in front of it. Because the residential area was a distance from the teaching area, this square was usually empty. It used to be the venue for military training drills. But today, the lecture hall was packed, and even the square had quite a few people walking about.\n
Wang Guangning was curious, so he squeezed into the lecture hall through a gap at the side of the crowd. From afar, he could see a red banner hanging on the lecture hallâs stage with the words, âAn Informal Dialogue with F Uniâs Outstanding Alumniâ.\n
There were a dozen people spread across the stage from left to right. Each of them were well-dressed and sitting upright. A small and thin man was standing at the front of the stage, speaking with a mic about the history of his struggles at length.\n
At a glance, Wang Guangning recognized that man of that year â the one who had been unsuccessful in chasing Yu Haining, then ran to the forum to smear him. But as a result, he was roundly mocked by Zhang Lingyi. It was Xu Guohui, the one everyone called âF Uniâs No. 1 Loserâ [see chapter 26].\n
Who knew that this person could now stand in front of so many to go on about his history of successes. Fortunes could truly rise and fall; even a big loser could make a turnaround!\n
While musing over this, Xu Guohui ended his talk. The emcee took over centrestage and said: âThanks to our senior, Xu Guohui, for sharing his experiences with us. Senior Xu graduated only three years ago, but has become the marketing manager of DM Chinaâs southern China branch. We can indeed learn a lot from his experiences. Now itâs time for Q & A â if you have something you want to learn from Senior Xu, donât miss the chance to ask!â\n
As the emcee spoke, his eyes swept the audience.\n
Wang Guangning smiled faintly and was about to leave when he heard the emcee call out all of a sudden: âSenior Wang Guangning! Itâs Senior Wang Guangning!â\n
Wang Guangning was shocked and came to a stop â the emcee was indeed directing his words at him and not hiding how pleasantly surprised he was: âWho knew that Senior Wang Guangning would also come. Please wonât you come onstage and share your thoughts with us for a while?â\n
The students present all enrolled after Wang Guangning had left. Many of them didnât know who he was, and so it was clear they didnât understand why the emcee was so ecstatic. It was the senior students who had heard a little bit about him â though they hadnât seen Wang Guangning themselves, when they entered university, the legends about him were still being shared.\n
As F Uni wanted to show how it treasured its outstanding alumni, a fourth-year student had been assigned as the emcee. This student entered the university directly after Wang Guangning had left for Taiwan, so it happened that heâd heard quite a few rumours about Wang Guangning. Whatâs more, he also happened to be from Sun Sixiangâs hometown. Under his positive influence, heâd developed a bewildering adoration of Wang Guangning, despite never having met him.\n
This was especially because the rumours about Wang Guangning were always accompanied by extravagant epithets, such as:\n
           F Uniâs Representative for âTall, Rich and Handsomeâ!\n           Junior Sis Killer!\n           Student Council President!\n           College Basketball Team Member!\n           First-class Scholarship Recipient!\n           Student Exchange Programme Placement Winner!\n
Every epithet carried with it a blinding light, and so a few who were in the know began bubbling with excitement.\n
Some who had seen a photo of Wang Guangning followed the emceeâs gaze and managed to work out that Wang Guangning was standing right at the back of the hall. Even though he was standing at the back, surrounded by a crowd, he was still standing head and shoulders above them, resplendent in his glory.\n
Wang Guangning gave a helpless smile. He could only slowly make his way toward the stage.\n
Xu Guohuiâs expression darkened considerably.\n
Although Wang Guangning wasnât intending to show off, as someone who had once loved the stage and had delusions of grandeur [lit. as a chĆ«nibyĆ], this sort of occasion didnât faze him at all. He was not at all uncomfortable.\n
Even before he started heading to the stage, there were already startled noises from audience members who couldnât help themselves. By the time he stood onstage and the lights were focused on him, all of a sudden, it seemed as though his whole person was glowing.\n
He was born to be a star â this was probably when you would apply this saying.\n
The audience fell silent unexpectedly.\n
The emcee was clearly beside himself with excitement â the only thing missing was tears streaming from his eyes. He raised the mic and said: âEveryone, let me introduce to you â this gentleman was known as one of the most handsome guys of F Uni ever since its founding. Senior Guangning swept countless F Uni girls off their feet, but he wasnât only good-looking. He was also our schoolâs most outstanding student. He was the college basketball team member, student council president, and even received a first-class scholarship. Senior Wang Guangning went to Taiwan on exchange after his fourth year â who wouldâve known he would appear in school today. Itâs truly an honour!â\n
Wang Guangning gave everyone an unhurried wave.\n
The audience broke out in whoops and cheers.\n
The emcee turned to Wang Guangning and asked: âSenior, you were the idol of countless junior brothers and sisters. Since you returned to school today, I wonder if you have anything you would like to say to all of us?â\n
Wang Guangning took the mic handed to him by the stage assistant, gave a faint smile, and said: âThen, let me encourage everyone to study well and progress daily.â\n
The audience gave a big laugh and someone was impertinent enough to boo.\n
âSenior Guangning is so humorous.â The emcee said, âI wonder which esteemed position Senior currently holds?â\n
Wang Guangning said: âEveryone might not have heard of this company. Itâs called Fumaokaisi.â\n
âWah, of course weâve heard of it!â The emcee raised his voice, âFumaokaisi is one of Taiwanâs biggest enterprises! Ah, then this means that Senior Wang Guangning and Senior Xu Guohui are in the same industry!â\n
Fancy that the emcee still remembered that Xu Guohui was present.\n
Wang Guangning smiled: âIâm not only in the same industry as Brother Xu. We were even classmates before!â\n
âOh, thatâs right, you were in the same batch.â The emceeâs tone of voice obviously implied that Xu Guohui hadnât shone as brightly as Wang Guangning, so everyone only remembered Wang Guangning from that batch.\n
Fumaokaisi?\n
Originally the focus of attention, Xu Guohui was immediately pushed aside and coldly ignored when Wang Guangning appeared. But now he finally found a way to counterattack. He put on a show of being polite and continued from the emceeâs words: âI wonder what Guangningâs position at Fumaokaisi is?â\n
Upon Xu Guohuiâs question, everyoneâs focus was drawn to him immediately.\n
Students invariably had a bafflingly high opinion of big companies.\n
They may not know how different industries and enterprises operated, and what various industry positions actually entailed, but the level of oneâs position was something that was easier for them to judge.\n
Since Fumaokaisi and DM China were both big guns in the same industry, it was hard to discern which was better than the other. In order to figure out whether Xu Guohui or Wang Guangning was doing better, they would naturally look at their job positions.\n
Xu Guohui believed it was impossible that Wang Guangning surpassed him. To have become the marketing manager of a foreign enterprise three years after graduation was no easy feat â and so Xu Guohui asked his question on purpose.\n
Wang Guangning naturally discerned Xu Guohuiâs enmity. It was no big deal to him. He didnât self-aggrandize, and didnât pretend to be modest: âIâm presently the marketing manager.â\n
On the face of it, it sounded as though he and Xu Guohui were on par.\n
The students in the audience didnât understand the industry implications. At the beginning, the emcee had talked up Xu Guohuiâs success, and Xu Guohui had also tooted his own horn during his talk.\n
If Wang Guangning and Xu Guohui had somewhat the same job position, this meant that Xu Guohuiâs glory would directly be transferred over to Wang Guangning. And since Wang Guangning was so incredibly handsome â with once-in-a-lifetime kind of good looks â Xu Guohui was immediately tossed away.\n
Everyoneâs curiosity about Wang Guangning intensified.\n
Xu Guohui hated this so much he was grinding his teeth. This hate didnât just stem from Wang Guangning once again robbing him of the spotlight â it was also rooted in their profession.\n
Xu Guohui had always thought he was very successful, and that he had finally washed himself clean of the nightmare of âF Uniâs No. 1 Loserâ. But Wang Guangning had once again easily made him crash to the bottom.\n
DM Chinaâs marketing manager.\n
Fumaokaisiâs marketing manager.\n
Perhaps the students present didnât know there was a difference.\n
But Xu Guohui knew the difference between them wasnât slight.\n
Both were big guns in the industry, and DM China was a little more established than Fumaokaisi. But since DM China had entered the mainland China market earlier, it had secured a foothold early on. As the market matured, the marketing departmentâs importance weakened â its current function was more as an auxiliary to the sales department. It mainly gave support â important but not powerful.\n
But Fumaokaisi was not the same. It had just entered the mainland and was in the middle of testing the market. The marketing department played a crucial role, such that even the sales department had to follow its lead. To be the marketing manager was to be the big bossâs right-hand man.\n
Xu Guohui had heard that Fumaokaisiâs marketing manager was a capable young man, who was held in high regard by old Zhou. Even Huidi Internationalâs David sang his praises, and he had even been invited to Huidiâs anniversary dinner.\n
Who wouldâve thought it was actually Wang Guangning.\n
The memory of being utterly humiliated after slinging mud at Wang Guangning in the forum rushed back to Xu Guohui. It couldnât be denied that his hate toward Wang Guangning was part of why he climbed so quickly to this position these past few years.\n
He wanted to surpass Wang Guangning. The thought of crushing him under his feet one day spurred him to work tirelessly.\n
But why was it that just as he thought he had achieved his goal, Wang Guangning once again effortlessly smashed his fantasy to smithereens.\n
As Xu Guohui looked out at the audience members entranced by Wang Guangning, it seemed as though each intoxicated expression transformed into one that was mocking him.\n
Wang Guangning, I will make you pay the price one day.